Czech police detain 214 migrants on trains in Břeclav

People were detained for not having travel documents, most were headed to Germany

Břeclav, South Moravia, Sept 1 (ČTK) — The Czech police detained 214 refugees, mostly from Syria, on trains from Hungary and Austria at the railway station in Břeclav in the night, foreigner police spokeswoman Kateřina Rendlová told the Czech News Agency today.

The number of migrants crossing south Moravia has been rising.

“We are securing interpreters now. … It is hard to say so far how many of the refugees had the necessary documents. However, a crushing majority of them did not have any. On top of that, none of the detainees had a permit to enter the territory of our country. This is why we have detained them. We proceed in compliance with law regardless of the procedures applied in other countries,” Rendlová told ČTK.

The Czech foreigner police detain refugees from the Middle East and Africa without necessary personal documents, while the Austrian, Hungarian and Slovak police let them continue to Germany where most of them want to get.

Men prevailed among the refugees detained in the night, Rendlová added.

“There were 115 men, 38 women and 61 children among them. A total of 196 were Syrians, seven came from Pakistan, five from Afghanistan, four from Bangladesh and two from Iraq,” Rendlová said.

The police were waiting for the trains at the Czech-Slovak border. They were prepared for the migrants. Buses for their transport parked outside the station and dozens of policemen were patrolling there.

The first 38 migrants, who filled one of the buses, arrived in Břeclav from Vienna before midnight, while others, 176, came on a train from Hungary bound for Germany after midnight, Rendlová said.

A police officer told ČTK that those are the main train lines used by migrants.

South Moravia Region Governor Michal Hašek (Social Democrats, ČSSD) told ČTK in Břeclav today that he was surprised by the structure of the migrants, mainly the high number of families with small children.

South Moravia is a gate to the Czech Republic, Hašek reiterated.

“The government, the Interior Ministry, the police and the regions are now preparing for what would happen if the of migration wave grew stronger in the long run,” Hašek said.

The police divided the migrants into groups to keep family members together, trying to communicate in English with them. However, the migrants, who were quite calm, often did not understand them.

A number of the refugees came from Syria, a police officer said.

The police transported the detained migrants to gyms in Břeclav and nearby Hodonín. Some accommodation capacities are also available in Brno and Znojmo, all south Moravia.

From these short-term accommodation facilities, the refugees are to be sent to the detention centers in Zastávka near Brno, Vyšní Lhoty, north Moravia, and Bělá-Jezová, central Bohemia.

Hundreds of migrants were allowed to board the trains to Austria and Germany in Budapest on Monday. However, at least two of the trains got stuck at the Austrian border since the authorities demanded that people without necessary documents get off. Hundreds of refugees got off in Vienna.

The trains from Hungary to Germany are crossing Slovakia where the police have sent patrols to check the trains.

The refugees point out that they have valid tickets and were allowed to board the trains in Budapest.